Professor Sally Thompson is a co-author of Soil Crusts Play a Dual Role in Desertification, which was selected as the research spotlight in the EOS Earth & Space News journal.
In the study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, researchers analyze the role of soil crusts as driving or deterring desertification, as environmental factors such as vegetation cover, plant morphology, plant water requirements, and land surface slope change.
The findings help explain why sometimes soil crusts accelerate desertification, whereas in other places crusts are essential for healthy functioning of dryland ecosystems.
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